After a weekend of stormy winter weather in Atlanta,
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said, "I think what this
weekend (shows) is that it would be very dicey to think
about playing a Super Bowl in an open-air stadium in what I
call a border city, such as Atlanta" (THE DAILY). NFL
VP/Communications Greg Aiello: "The weather has had some
impact on some of the events surrounding the game. Some
people haven't been able to get into town" (N.Y. TIMES,
1/30). NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay writes that although Tagliabue
and league execs "publicly were careful not to dismiss the
possibility of bringing a future Super Bowl here, memories
of this experience will linger. Instead of a balmy
celebration to close the season, the NFL caught a bitter
chill." One TV exec said, "Don't worry, we won't be back
here again." Other execs with "corporate ties" to the
league told Zipay that they "seriously doubted that the
Super Bowl will return" to Atlanta "for at least 10 years."
Zipay added that the Atlanta "experience also has renewed
speculation" that the NFL might finance a stadium in L.A.
"for an expansion team and use it as a Super Bowl site every
three years" (NEWSDAY, 1/31). In DC, Tony Kornheiser wrote
that Afghanistan "will get the Super Bowl before Atlanta"
(WASHINGTON POST, 1/30). Atlanta's Super Bowl Host
Committee President Robert Dale Morgan: "In every area that
we could control I think we hit the mark. There were
obviously certain things beyond our control, specifically
weather. I don't think this will hurt our chances for a
future Super Bowl." Greater Atlanta Convention & Visitors
Bureau's Bill Howard: "I think as we assess the crowds and
what the attendance was, we'll see that everything was fine
and alot of the people who wanted to get here, made it"
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 1/31). Bear Stearns revised its
economic impact forecast of Super Bowl XXXIV on the city of
Atlanta. Bear Stearns Senior Managing Dir Jason Ader: "We
estimate that the poor weather conditions will slice $125
million of our original $410 million estimate" (THE DAILY).
